Merantau Warrior review (DVD) ★★★★

Among a whole host of good things that come from Merantau Warrior, there's one that particularly stands out, and that's that there's a new kid on the martial arts movie block: Iko Uwais. A truck driver in Indonesia before being cast in the film, Uwais brings a rarely seen fighting style to the forefront of the genre, and one which definitely cannot be ignored from here on out. Say hello to Silat Harimau. It's not as Westernised as modern day kung fu performed by the likes of Jackie Chan, nor is it as fancy as the Muay Thai so excellently put to use by the likes of Tony Jaa in films such as the Ong Bak series. What it is, however, is an incredibly brutal martial art bursting with excitement and rabid intensity, and one that is captured stunningly by refreshing cinematography and unexpectedly good direction from a film-maker with a surprising nationality.

G.H. Evans, writer, director and editor of Merantau Warrior, is a Welshman, but you'd never know it from the look and feel of the film. It's very much an Indonesian production with its native cast and crew, though Evans' direction could have gone just about anywhere, and thankfully he went for a wholly authentic aesthetic and it pays off big.

Iko portrays a young man from a quiet farming village who must undertake a journey into adulthood by finding success in the hustle and bustle of Jakartar, Indonesia's capital and largest city. The journey, named "Merantau", is a tradition for the men in his community. Iko intends to teach Silat in the city, but soon after arriving he winds up having to put his fighting skills to use as a means of self-defense, when he becomes embroiled in a deadly human trafficking operation and makes a bid to save the women from the clutches of their ruthless captors.

The story is pretty flimsy and suitably takes second place to the action, which isn't a bad thing when the fight scenes are this good. The choreography is first rate and the punches and kicks being thrown around by Uwais are unbelievably realistic. Either Iko is a reassuringly astute screen fighter, or he was really beating seven shades of you know what out of his victims. And it's all photographed naturally—each battle is fluid and there are no flashy quick cuts to disjoint them. The cinematography in its entirety instead opts to take its time depicting the story, which all the better makes Merantau Warrior a truly excellent showcase of innovative Silat martial arts and an electric new star in Iko Uwais.

EXTRAS ★★★ The Beginning: a look at the origins of the film's story; a feature on the fight choreography; The Test: how obtaining test footage went when practicing stunts and camerawork; The Cast and Press Conference; The 56 Takes: showing how difficult it was to capture a minute-long fight scene with a single shot on the first day of shooting; Bekasi: the filming of a major fight scene in Bekasi; Bukit Tinggi: shooting in picturesque West Sumatra; Streets and Alleyways: a feature on the difficulty of shooting scenes in enclosed spaces; Studios and the Recruitment Centre: lensing the film in a variety of studios in Jakarta; Rumah Susun: capturing the awe-inspiring rooftop fight scene; making of featurette, the theatrical trailer and deleted scenes.